(( Berkeley, California. The sun is just going down over the Gilman apartments. There is a slight wind blowing through the city. It is hinting towards rain, but the clouds appear perfectly fine.
In the distance, coming down the street curb, three figures can be made out. Two appear to be walking, while a third is on top of a skateboard. Common pedestrians get out of their way, in fear of being run over by the "crazy skateboarders".
As the three young men get closer, their features become more apparant. They all appear to be no more than twenty years old, eighteen at the youngest. They all have the Gilman look and additude bouncing off of them.
The one on the left, who appears to be the oldest at maybe twenty years old, has a closely buzzed head, and sideburns coming to a wide base far past his ears. He looks around 6' 1". And fairly skinny. Both of his ears are multiply pierced, and a half finished strand of a tribal tattoo is wrapped around his left wrist. He is wearing a World Industries t-shirt, and a pair wide Droors board pants. He is holding his skateboard under his right arm.
The one in the middle appears to be no older than eighteen years old. He is shorter than the one to his right, probably around 5' 9". His eyebrow is pierced, but no other piercings or tattoos are visible on him. He is wearing a green Pennywise t-shirt, and a pair of long, black board pants. He is carrying his skateboard under his left arm.
The one on the far right is gliding along on top of his skateboard. He appears to be inbetween the ages of the two people on his right, around 19 years old. He appears to be about 5' 11". His hair is fairly short, and is spiked up. Streaks of yellow and red hair color are apparant through out the color. He has a few ear-rings and an eye-brow ring, and a few tattoos run up both of his arms. He has an A-Team t-shirt on, and a pair of courdaroy cargo pants.
As they come closer to the Gilman apartments, it becomes apparant that at least one of them lives here. It becomes obvious when the oldest looking one, the one with almost the bald head, stops in front of room #7, which is right below an over hanging light. He starts reaching into his pocket as one of his friends, the youngest looking one, starts talking to him. ))
" Alright Matt, you better watch that sorebow. That was a pretty nasty fall over that garbage can. But, we're still going to go skate tomorrow, right? "
Friend:
(( Matt raises his elbow up, and observes the large lump right on the end. Yes, it had been a pretty bad fall. Scrapes of dried blood were still around it. He would have to clean that up. ))
" Well Jason, of course. Just a little fucking bruise isn't going to make me not skate a day. Besides, what else will I do for the rest of the day? Life in this stupid apartment is as dull as can be. The only activity here is when people like that HEW guy come around.. "
Matt:
(( They laugh a little amongst theirselves, remembering when Matt had approached the reporter, Dotcom, on the second level, and he had been petrified of Matt. They had made a few jokes about that the whole night, especially about the piss stains that penetrated Dotcom's pants when he was startled by Matt. That had served to feul a lot of laighter amongst each other.
But Matt had wondered what he wanted with Zero. Sure, maybe he was a reporter. Maybe he had needed to talk to Zero. But he wondered what they talked about. Matt had only talked to Zero twice, passing each other on the apartment levels. But he found that he couldn't get Zero to talk a whole lot.
Just then, Jason spoke up to him. ))
" Well, hey Matt, me and Nick gotta run. Some chick said that her parents are gone for the night, so we gotta be making a stop by there tonight, if ya know what I mean! "
Jason:
(( Matt laughed a little, and they talked a little more before Jason and Nick dropped their boards onto the pavement, and started skating off.
Matt watched them skate off, and then turned to the door to his apartment, and was about to unlock the door and enter. It was then that he heard a door open and shut up on the second level. Matt waited for a moment, to see if it was the new girl that had just moved in.
He walked out a little from the balcony to see who it was. It wasn't the girl, but it was Zero. He was coming down the stairs. He had a solemn look on his face. His hair was messed up, and real strung out looking. His eyes were dark and low, and his head was down.
Matt was about to enter his door, when he started wanting to go talk to Zero again. He was curious about what that reporter had wanted to know. But he wasn't sure if he would appear to be just another wrestling fan trying to talk to a pro wrestler. But, for some reason, he just couldn't view Zero as just another pre wrestler. He seemed more down to earth, and one of the normal people. The normal people of Berkeley.
He decided not to open his door. He quickly turned back, and saw that Zero was already down the stairs, walking towards the alley beside the apartments. Matt decided he would follow him. He didn't have time to put his skateboard inside of his apartment, so he just put it under his arm, and carried it with him as he followed Zero.
Zero had already rounded the corner to the alley. Even though he was walking slow and taking his time, he was still quick. But Matt wondered why Zero was always going into the alley, when he had a perfectly fine apartment to stay in. As he saw Zero round the corner to the alley, Matt hollared his name a few times. ))
" Zero! Hey, um...Zero. Can you hold up for just a second? "
Matt:
(( Zero stopped just as he had turned the corner, and looked behind him. He saw a young man walking at a fast pace towards him. But Zero didn't say anything to him. He recognized him as Matt from the apartments. He merely nodded his head, and stopped walking further into the alley.
Matt caught up with him. He looked Zero, who looked right back at him. They were the same heigth, almost the same weight, and looked like they came out of the same mold as far as appearances.
Finally, Matt broke the silence. ))
" What's up man. Saw that reporter come through the other day. And I knew that you don't seem to be the kind of guy who will keep a person long. But he seemed to stay in the alley for a long time. Was he annoying? Like he was when he talked to me? "
Matt:
(( At first, Zero didn't respond. His gaze went from Matt's eyes to the skateboard which was under Matt's arms. Then, his gaze came back upon Matt's face. He spoke up to him. ))
" He came as a puppet boy from the HEW. The HEW wanted to know answers, so they send their last rung reporter out here to Berkeley to ask me what is going on. Typical fashion. He had no clue of what to do, but he was trying his hardest.
Zero:
I have no problem with Dotcom, though. He is merely trying to provide food for his family. It is others in the higher-ups that I have problems with. Those that try to control me, and make me do as they say. "
(( Matt listened to what Zero had to say. He understood perfectly what it was like when people tried to make you conform to what they viewed as appropriate. When it was their way or no way. Matt was a strong believer in freedom of choice, as he was sure Zero was, too. ))
" Who is it that's being lame? The president? Officials? What are they trying to do? "
Matt:
(( Zero thought about that for a moment. He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a cigarette, and lit it. He took a deep drag, and exhaled the smoke, thinking about the higher-ups in the HEW.
Matt, as well, reached into his pocket, and got a cigarette. He put it in mouth, and was searching for his lighter, just when Zero lit his lighter, lighting Matt's cigarette. Matt thanked him, waiting for Zero's answer about what he had just asked.
Finally, after blowing out some smoke, Zero replied to Matt's question. ))
" It's a majority of people. Everyone's out for their own neck, and they're trying to bury those that they know are better, and will surpass them if given half a chance.
Zero:
It starts from even the lower ranking people, such as Damon Cutter. I'm not sure if you're familiar with him, but he's a reporter and play by play announcer from the HEW. And, well...he now knows to stay clear away from me. Once, he came to me to try to do an interview. But, I was not in the mood, not for him, at least. But, he was cunning, and had setup a secret recorder, and recorder our entire conversation. All of this, without my approval. In fact, I had even destroyed one of his recorders just to make sure that he wasn't recording our conversation. I didn't trust him. "
(( Matt listened to Zero talk, and quickly replied. ))
" So, how then, did he record the interview if you had destroyed his recorder? "
" I didn't know it, but he had a second recorder in his pocket. He was recording it from that. I didn't know this, and he went off, and printed out our entire conversation in the HEW Gazette. He had even taken me out of context, and added things that he thought I might have been hinting at. All of this, for his personal gain. Trying to use me to further his own life and goals.
" Did you do anything about Damon Cutter, though? "
Matt:
Zero:
See, I didn't mind Dotcom, because I know that that isn't his goal. He merely wants out of Damon Cutter's large shadow...and ego. But Damon Cutter uses people, would hold them back if he could further his own name. He is holding back Dotcom. "
Matt:
(( Zero paused, and took another drag from his cigarette. Letting it out slowly, he responded to Matt's question. ))
" Oh, I tried to. I went straight to the HEW headquarters to find Damon Cutter. But the HEW blocked me from getting in. They knew I had been done wrong, but they done nothing about it. In fact, they even went as far as to try to get me arrested for wanting to get my hands on Damon.
Zero:
But, I managed to get in. I tried every corner to find him, but he had locked his door up. And, the police were after me in there. I had to jump through a window to escape being arrested. "
(( Zero raises the left sleave of his shirt up, showing a scar going from his shoulder to the middle of his bicep. ))
" A piece of glass caught me pretty good, but it wasn't too bad. About the same as fighting in barbwire. "
Zero:
(( Matt took a drag from his cigarette, staring at that scar. It didn't look just alright. It looked like it would of hurt severly. He was amazed that Zero hadn't died of loss of blood from such a cut.
He blew the smoke off to the side, and asked Zero another question. ))
" Well, who are the higher-ups that you are talking about? I know Damon Cutter is out for his own good, but you mentioned about people up front who are trying to comtrol you, make you conform to what they want. Who would that be? "
" Well, you see, a group of guys called Terror Inc... "
Matt:
Zero:
(( Matt nodded, acknowledging that he knew who that was. ))
" Well, they have taken over the HEW. And, since then, one man in particular has taken notice of me, and has decided to be sure and not let me be who I am, what I want to be. HaVoC. He has even gone out of his way to make sure that I am being put down for doing things that every other wrestler there does, too.
Zero:
He has made sure, that since he has gotten power, he will be sure not to let me rise back up to that state of where I was before the first time I was in the HEW. Because, back then, he was merely a rookie who was begging for a match from me. And, I gave him a match, and I beat him. He couldn't beat me then, and he can't now. And he knows this. Therefore, he has gone out of his way to overshadow everything that I do, and make sure I get no credit for what I accomplish.
But, I am sick of this. Even my stye is being taken away from me. I have noticed, as of late, that I can get dq'ed for just using a chair in a match, when, before, I would throw an opponent through a double stack of tables, and would get nothing but praise.
Now, the HEW has gone corporate, trying to be politically correct. They want to be looked at as normal. A hardcore match is seen as too violent, and therefore, not accepted unless it's in the rules of a match.
But, hardcore is what I am. That's how I fight. And, since Terror Inc. has taken control, they know this. HaVoC knows this, and he has been certain to make sure to emphasis rules and dq's in my matches, just hoping to less-en my record.
But, he won't be able to do anything about it once I am Hardcore champion again. "
(( Matt smoked the rest of his cigarette, and then stomped it out on the ground. He then responded to Zero's comments. ))
" Damn man, it's gotten fucking crazy there. No wonder you seem all mad and shit. "
Matt:
" Other things are eating away at me right now. Things that I don't care to talk about. But, things that people always, for some, reason, want to bring up.
Zero:
But, I see something under your arm. Your skateboard. I haven't skated since I broke my board in a bar fight almost four months ago. And, haven't gotten a chance to really go skating since then.
But, would you be interested in going skating for a while? "
(( Right then, it hit Matt what was happening. The guy he saw on TV was asking him if he wanted to go skating. How could he turn him down!? ))
" Of course! I mean, sure. I only have one board though, but you can skate for a while. My elbow is still acting up on me. But, be my guest. "
Matt:
(( Zero flipped his cigarette off to the side. Matt dropped his board to the ground, and Zero pulled it to him with his foot. He then got on, and pushed off down the street curb, just as night time was just about upon both of them.
As Zero skated down the curb, he ollied over a man-hole, and cut right past a store, going out of view of Matt.
As Matt watched him skate off, though, he started to wonder. What was Zero going to the alley for? He never said. And, also, what were the things that were eating away at Zero? Was that what was making Zero look so tired? He would have to ask him once Zero came back. ))
midi: "Infected" by Bad Religion
